Abstract

In this paper, we study service exports by Finnish companies, with a special focus on their EU trade. We use a register-based dataset of all Finnish service export firms. We find that service export growth has been fast. In 2010–2017, Finland’s service export volume grew by more than 50%, which exceeded the corresponding growth in service exports in Sweden, Denmark and Germany. 53% of Finnish service exports were directed to the EU. According to the results, the number of Finnish companies that engage in service trade to the EU has increased by around 55% since 2010. The share of exports by service industries has also increased dramatically and reached 65% of the total service trade to EU in 2017. Manufacturing accounts for almost 29% and other industries, such as utilities and construction, 6% of the total service exports to the EU. The study also yielded preliminary results on the impact of Business Finland’s activities on service exports. In these analyses, it was found that there was a significant degree of uncertainty in the estimates, and no statistically significant impact on the growth of service exports was found.